Soccer: Spain snatch heartstopping victory

Spain and Yugoslavia endured a dramatic finish to make it to the quarter-finals of Euro 2000 after a seven-goal thriller yesterday, while German coach Erich Ribbeck became the first management casualty when he quit in the face of his team's biggest humiliation in the soccer competition.

Co-hosts the Netherlands scored a 3-2 victory over World Cup holders France to make sure they stay on home soil in the championship. But with both teams fielding back-up players, it did not really look like a dress-rehearsal for the final.

Trailing 2-3 and seemingly on the way out, Spain scored two goals in injury time to beat Yugoslavia 4-3 in Bruges to qualify as group C winners.

The Yugoslavs then had to wait to hear the result of the Norway-Slovenia game, and when it came up as 0-0, they began celebrating, too, after finishing second.

"This is the most important match I have ever played," said Spanish midfielder Josep Guardiola. "This shows that in football the difference between heaven and hell is one minute."

In one of the best games in the 40-year history of the European championship, Alfonso Peres scored twice for Spain, including the injury-time clincher, while the other Spanish goals came from substitute Pedro Munitis and a Gaizka Mendieta penalty.

Yugoslavia, who were leading 3-2 going into injury time but with 10 men on the field after the second-half ejection of Slavisa Jokanovic, netted through Savo Milosovic, who now has four goals in the championship, Dejan Govedarica and Slobodan Komljenovic.

The result gave Spain six points and Yugoslavia and Norway four each. Because the Yugoslavs had beaten Norway, they advanced on the head-to-head result rule.

The group stages were completed when the Netherlands downed France in Amsterdam to win group D.

Both had already qualified and the result means the Dutch continue playing their games in their country instead of crossing the border into Belgium.

The French twice took the lead, through Christophe Dugarry and David Trezeguet, but the Dutch hit back through Patrick Kluivert, Frank de Boer and Boudewijn Zenden, three of their Barcelona stars.

In the other group D game, the Czech Republic defeated Denmark 2-0, with two strikes by Vladimir Smicer, leaving the Danes the only team without a point or a goal.

While there were celebrations among Spaniards and Yugoslavs, there was more gloom surrounding the Germans.

Defending champions and three-time winners Germany went home after the first round, beaten 0-3 by Portugal's reserve players in Rotterdam on Wednesday and jeered off the field by their own fans.

Ribbeck, a 63-year-old coach who had been under fire anyway for team selections and failing to lift the morale of the players, announced his resignation at the team's training headquarters.

"I draw the conclusions from our catastrophic campaigns and I clear the way for a successor," Ribbeck said. "I failed to turn Germany's best players into a competitive team.

"We were humiliated in the last game."

Germany, whose last first-round elimination was 16 years ago, also lost to England for the first time in a championship game since 1966.

The quarterfinal fixtures are (NZ time):

Portugal v Turkey, Amsterdam; Sunday, June 25, 4:00 am.

Italy v Romania, Brussels; Sunday, June 25, 6:45 am.

Yugoslavia v Netherlands, Rotterdam; Monday, June 26, 4:00 am.

Spain v France, Bruges; Monday, June 26, 6:45 am.

- AGENCIES